Interesting facts

The winning design by the Ibola Lethu Consortium created the Moses Mabhida Stadium. With its iconic “arch of triumph”, the stadium is an engineering feat that provides Durban with a defining landmark to match the Eiffel Tower, Sydney’s Opera House or The London Eye.

Importantly, the multi-disciplinary nature of the stadium’s design, permits it to host a wide range of sporting and cultural events. Visually inspiring – and comprising of more than a hundred columns – the facade of Moses Mabhida Stadium allows for natural ventilation and creates an incredible sense of space every bit as striking as the stadium’s famous arch.

Voted the most popular stadium in South Africa in an online poll, Moses Mabhida host 7 FIFA World Cup matches, including a semi-final attended by the likes of Paris Hilton, Leonoardo DiCaprio and John Travolta, in 2010.

The success of this stadium is well documented, not only via the 27 awards received to date but more importantly, in just two years the highest level of utilisation for the new stadia in South Africa can be claimed by Durban’s stadium.

The stadium is named after a giant of a man, Moses Mbheki Mncane Mabhida, who was one of those who helped to forge and maintain the powerful United Front that eventually saw the creation of a democratic and non-racial South Africa

Its design allows for natural ventilation and creates an incredible sense of space every bit as striking as the stadium’s famous arch

The shape of the iconic arch was inspired by the “Y shape” on the South African flag

The different levels of the stadium are supported by 1 750 columns and 216 raking beams that provide the main support to the seating panels

The roof is made of 46 000 m² of Teflon-coated glass fibre membrane that produces a translucent glow when the stadium is lit up